Natosha Monroe

If only I could place bets on the comments I get from people who have just heard about my upcoming deployment* to Afghanistan! I’d put my money on some variation of, “I heard they’re making you go” or “so you have to go overseas, huh?” and make some serious cash. Just this past week I was in Arkansas for a family wedding when my cousin Brenda was the first to convey her sympathy in my “having to go” to Afghanistan. I replied with my typical light-hearted correction: “No, I get to go. I volunteered for the assignment and I’m really excited about what I’ll be doing there!”

As a Soldier I’ve both heard and uttered, “Hurry up and wait” countless times. For anyone who has been in the Army, this is not only a familiar phrase, but an annoying reality of our military culture. I was first introduced to the “hurry up and wait” frustration back when I was a little girl and my Pop Pop told me stories from his WW II days and his experiences afterward with the VA system. (Pop also told me that if I swallowed a watermelon seed it would sprout in my stomach and a vine would grow up through my nose, but I think “hurry up and wait” is more believable.)